Love is Love
by freakzoid247
Summary: A story about Nick and Greg forming a relationship. I believe all CSI characters with four lettered names should end up together with the exception of Sara, for our purposes she's Sarah. It's not M now, but I want to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything even remotely related to CSI, I just write about it._

Love is Love

The lab bustled as the morning crew switched over into the night shift. Grissom was walking slowly along the corridor while reading a report which had just been handed to him. Not watching where he was going, he almost walked right into Nick. "Sorry, long day", was all Grissom said and as an afterthought added, "Oh, Nick, while I have you here, are you interested in attending that conference in Arizona? One spot just opened up for a level three, and that speaker you like, Channing Parell, is going to be there".

"That would be great, when is it" Nick asked?

"Next Wednesday, and tell Greg if you're going because he's going as well".

"Ok and thanks", Nick yelled, but Grissom was already gone around the corner. Greg's workspace was overpowered by loud music. Nick slowly crept up behind him and grabbed his shoulders. Greg twisted and almost fell, but Nick quickly caught him and brought him upright. "My knight in shining armour", Greg said while looking jokingly into Nick's eyes.

"My princess", Nick replied while chuckling slightly.

"So what do you want, because my shift doesn't start for another three minutes", Greg asked while going back to his previous task.

"I can see that, because on work time you surely wouldn't be reading", Nick paused to take the magazine from Greg, "Men's Fitness"?

"What? These babies don't grow themselves", Greg grinned while flexing his bicep.

"Do you have a microscope I could borrow, because I'm having trouble seeing anything"? At this remark Greg playfully pushed him away.

"Did you actually want anything, or do you just take comfort in knowing you've wasted all of my free time" Greg questioned?

"I wanted to let you know that I'm going to that conference with you next week; you know, so you'll have enough time order my champagne and rose petals" Nick added with another grin as he left.

"In your dreams, you'll never get with me Nick so you might as well stop trying", Greg said and glanced at the clocked. The second hand ticked towards the twelve, "damn you Nick" Greg mumbled under his breath and started work for the day.

The next week went by quickly as both Greg and Nick had to finish up whatever work load they had before their "vacation" started. Finally Wednesday arrived and temporary freedom was sure to ensue. "A toast", Nick announced as soon as they were seated into their first class seats with a glass of champagne, "to a few days of relaxation".

"Here, here" Greg replied and sipped his drink. "At least you only have to sit in on seminars; I'm doing training for my level three assessment. I have to actually be paying attention".

"Isn't this nice", the flight attendant remarked as she passed by their row, "would I be correct in assuming you two lovebirds are off on a romantic getaway"?

"Ha", Nick laughed, "you think we're...romantic getaway...lovebirds. What gave you that idea"?

"Oh, I'm very sorry, it's just...well...I've never been wrong before", the stewardest blushed. "I guess I work with people so much I've become very perceptive, good gaydar or whatever it's called", the flight attendant explained.

"That's all right, really, I was just taken aback that's all", Nick replied.

"Sorry again, enjoy your flight".

"Wow, can you believe that, she actually thought that not only were we gay, but also together. I wonder where she got that idea", Nick said to Greg, but he was staring intently at the window. "Greg? Are you ok"? Nick asked concerned.

"Yeah, well, no, you see she wasn't exactly wrong" Greg explained.

"What do you mean...we're not together; or has all of our fun and games led you to believe otherwise"?

"No not that, the other thing".

"You mean the gay bit, well that's not true either, is it" Nick asked?

"Well, it's not as untrue as I'd like it to be", Greg admitted.

"What, you mean..."

"Yeah, well sort of", Greg explained.

"How can it only be sort of true", Nick questioned?

"I'm...oh boy...I'm bisexual", Greg clarified.

"Wow. That's um...wow".

"I wanted to tell you before we shared a room because I didn't want you finding out later and being all he was just doing that to get in my pants. I don't want things to be weird between us that's all", Greg continued.

"If there's one thing that this job has taught me, it's to be open minded. Don't worry about it, it's definitely not what I was expecting to learn on this trip, but I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me. And it's not like we're sharing a bed or anything. So...have you ever had a boyfriend", Nick asked after a few moments of silence?

"Once, in college, but before that it was all ladies for me. There was something about Jason that just got to me. I was completely straight before him, or so I thought", Greg replied.

Nick laughed and said, "so how did you meet if you weren't out patrolling for guys"?

"Roommate", Greg answered and blushed.

"Ah. Does anyone else at the lab know" Nick questioned?

"Catherine, and that's only because she was with me on a case when I ran into him. It was a mutual break-up and we kissed when we saw each other. I didn't even think Catherine saw us, but sure enough she was there introducing herself and giving me her "you're going to tell me everything" look. I could have said he was my brother, but she wouldn't have believed it, I really had no choice".

"Catherine does do that doesn't she. Why did you break up", Nick asked?

"I was going to Vegas and he got a job in Detroit. I'm not very good with long distance relationships, had to break up with my high school girlfriend too when I left for college".

"Didn't you find it weird? First being with a girl and then bam being with a guy", Nick enquired?

"At first, yeah, it was really weird, but then I realized love is love, when you love someone gender doesn't matter", Greg replied softly. The rest of the trip was quite uneventful after that. The movie started, the pretzels were served and finally they had landed.

After having arrived at their hotel, both of them were eager to get settled in after a long day. "Name please", the concierge asked.

"Greg Sanders"

"Here were are, one thirty two, I will get one of the bell hops to bring your suitcases up, I hope you enjoy you stay". The elevator bell dinged and the three of them stepped inside. Nick walked into the room first. "Oh no, this can't be our room".

"Yes sir it is, one thirty two it says so on the door", the young bell hop replied.

"No, I mean, well there's only one bed"!

"Is that a problem sir, I just assumed you guys were-"

"Don't even say it", Nick said cutting him off. Greg just stared into the room, unsure of what to do.

"Are there any other rooms which we could switch into", he asked.

"No sir, I'm afraid there are not. We have been booked solid for months because of the conference. You could try other hotel, but it will most likely be the same over there".

"Well thank-you, we'll talk it over", Nick said as he handed over a tip. "So what do you want to do"?

"It's totally your decision, I have no problem with sharing a bed if you don't", Greg answered.

"Well, it doesn't look like we have much of a choice", Nick said finally. "I'm so tired right now, I don't even care".

The next morning was filled with the many activities in which a conference entails. Greg had gotten up early to attend his first lecture and Nick's was not until later in the day. While he lay in bed he thought about the events of the previous day. About Greg's impromptu coming out, the room mishap, but mostly about how good it felt to have someone sleeping beside him. It was probably just his lack of romantic action in the months previous, but something about having Greg beside him gave him a certain sense of completion. He remembered what Greg had said about love and how much he enjoys their constant bickering. Soon it was time to get up, Channing was about to start.

After meeting up again, the decision was made to order room service while it was on the lab's tab. Dish after dish arrived ending with a large sundae. Nick flicked through the channels; while Greg finished of the last of the ice cream and stopped when he got to a channel with a "Girls Gone Wild" ad on. Greg looked up and laughed. "We're not actually going to watch this are we" he asked? "Besides, all the good stuff is blocked out anyway".

"What would you prefer we watch"?

"I don't even know what's on, give me the remote". Greg flicked through the channel and stopped momentarily on Queer as Folk and grinned mischievously at Nick.

"Oh come on", Nick protested and lunged for the remote. He tackled Greg to the ground and pinned him before grabbing at the remote. Greg held on and pulled it towards himself. Nick lost his balance and ended up a mere inch away from Greg's mouth.

"You know its funny this is the exact same way my relationship started with Jas-", he was cut short when Nick covered his mouth with his own. "What was that for"?!

"I don't know, they were there and I just wanted to".

"I know the feeling, felt the same way when I did that to Jas-". Again he was cut off by Nick intervention. "Will you let me say his name"?! Greg did not seem to be put off at all by what was happening.

"Will you understand what I'm trying to tell you"?!

"What"?

"Here I am kissing you and all you do is continue on with your conversation as if nothing happ-". This time it was Nick's turn to get cut off. They continued for a long while longer, the TV still blaring in the background and woke up the next morning with each other in their arms.


	2. Chapter 2

…so by analysing the blood spatter pattern we can fully determine the directionality of the bullet and in turn, the shooter

…_so by analysing the blood spatter pattern we can fully determine the directionality of the bullet and in turn, the shooter. The size of the drop also gives great insight into the events of a shooting. There can be big drops, small drops, medium sized drops, oblong drops, round drops, bean-shaped drops, long drips, short drips…._

Nick couldn't take much more of Dr. Channing's lesson of the day. As much as he admired the man's intellectual abilities, if he heard about one more kind of blood drop, he might provide an on-stage demonstration of blunt force trauma for the audience to analyze. It was one thing to look at him and a whole other to listen. He was always well dressed. A freshly pressed suit jacket adorned his shoulders and his turquoise dress shirt was just tight enough that you could see the outline of his perfectly formed muscl—Nick snapped back to reality quickly, like he had just been zapped by the keypad at work that always malfunctioned.

…_diagonal drips, horizontal drips, vertical drips…_

How long could one person name different shapes of blood spatter?! Nick unsuccessfully tried to stay focused on the seminar; thoughts of the previous night kept flooding his mind, and all of the implications that went with it. How could he have let that happen? Did he really want to pursue this, or was it simply the result of being girlfriendless for six months? He felt bad about the way he had left things with Greg; leaving in a rush and ignoring the younger mans inquiries about his upcoming seminars, but he needed time to think. Not everyone could have an encounter like that with another man and take it as well as Greg did with Jason.

A smattering of applause weakly arose from the seminar audience; apparently all the types of blood spatter were accounted for. With nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon, Nick bought a sandwich from the hotel coffee shop and headed up to room one thirty two. He was half way through his roast beef on whole wheat when a card was swiped in the door and it opened. Greg slowly manoeuvred his kit around the door and looked up to meet Nick's eyes. He promptly glanced downwards again. The room filled with silence while Greg put his work things away.

"So, how was your morning session?" Nick asked between mouthfuls.

"I knew you were going to do this!"

"Do what? Eat a roast beef sandwich? Courteously ask you how you day was--?"

"Ignore our situation and pretend like nothing happen!" Greg spun around to face Nick and made eye contact once more, this time returning the gaze as if he hoped to burn holes through Nick's head and into the opposing neighbour's wall.

"Do you think this is easy for me?" Nick exclaimed. "Not all of us are as good at adjusting as you are."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Jason. You kiss him once and immediately decide, hey I'm bisexual, let's start dating! Some of us like to actually analyze and understand what's going on around us; maybe that's why you're always stuck in the lab!"

"If you think for one minute that that was easy for me, than you don't know shit! How dare you assume things about me that you've never taken the time to understand. With all our witty banter we never touch on anything real, and yet here you are assuming you know me. Because little lab boy Greg has never faced any hardships in his life; he's just there to be the quirky lab tech that never leaves the confines of his lab and experiences the real world. He's the one who makes processing mountains of evidence seem effortless, when he works overtime an average of four out of every five shifts. He's the one covering everybody else's ass when they run to him with a "top priority" case that needs to be wrapped up by the end of the day, as if everyone else in the lab hadn't come to him the minute before and asked the same thing. But hard-working, trustworthy, Greg takes one for the team and agrees because he truly loves his job and believes in the cause that he fights for. Not that he gets anything in return for his efforts, all he gets is a file folder slammed down on his desk by another CSI who thinks it's their god given right to parade around the lab like they own the place and make the rest of us feel like second class citizens and belittles us to a point where we feel we must become CSI's if we are to accomplish anything. Never asked about the years I spent in therapy or about how I haven't seen my parents since the day they found out about Jason and I, but I guess you knew that too." And with that he turned to exit, attempting to slam the door for effect, but was bested by the hydraulics and stomped off in defeat.

Nick stared at the slowly closing door in shock and looked back down at his half-eaten sandwich; suddenly not as hungry as he was before. In spite of the length of time he had known the lab tech he had never seen this side of him. In the lab he would be the first one to play air guitar while waiting for a test to run, in fact he was pretty sure he'd seen it happen. Nick sighed and spread out across the bed that not too long ago contained both him and Greg entwined within each other. He remembered the undeniable feelings which taunted him like kids in a school yard and desperately tried to ignore them hoping that they would lose interest in go away.

--

Greg stormed down the hallway of the hotel trying to get away from everything and had nowhere to go but out. Pushing through the doors of the lobby out onto the street, Greg scanned the streets for a local coffee shop or anywhere he could be alone with his thoughts. He passed a teen wearing a shirt proclaiming that "Some people were just born cool" and silently added to the end, "and this shirt proves I'm not one of them." "When did he become so sarcastic? Was that a bit of his father in him? Ugh, the last thing he wanted to think about was his parents." Greg suddenly veered left into a small shop that had the logo of a monkey on the front sipping a glass of lemonade and sat down at the nearest empty table. The waitress, taking notice of his distress, approached the table cautiously and asked what he wanted.

His coffee was served promptly; and despite the blistering heat outside the warmth soothed him. "How could I have let this happen?! It's Nick. What did I expect his reaction to be? Not that I even did anything! He was the one who initiated." Defeated, he slumped his head into his arms and came to rest on the table with his eyes closed and did not open them again until he felt the presence of someone standing beside him.

"I wasn't even sure if it was you," Nick said as he sat down in the vacant seat beside Greg.

"What are you doing here?" Greg muttered as he placed his head back within his folded arms.

"Isn't this what I'm supposed to do? Chase after you when you're upset."

"You're not _supposed _to do anything. You're have to want to," Greg mumbled again muffled by his dress shirt sleeve.

"Well, what if I want to." Nick said and then, after taking a deep breath, whispered, "what if I want you?" Greg slowly looked up from the table and met Nick's eyes for the third time that day and searched for truth, only to be matched by a look he hadn't seen in a long time.

"What made you change your mind?" Greg asked, still doubtful of the validity of this confession.

"What makes you think I've ever felt otherwise?"

"The way you freaked out today. All the joking we've done together, none of it ever seemed real, at least not to you."

"I thought a lot about what you said on the plane. About love and how it shouldn't be biased by gender; it makes a lot of sense you know. I guess I've always known deep down that there was more going on between us, but I didn't know how to classify it. Being a scientist, as I'm sure you know, we're used to putting things in categories and making conclusions based the evidence which tells us the answer. Because I like girls too, I must always like girls and no one else."

After taking a moment to register everything that was happening, Greg added "I know what you mean. You are me not too long ago."


End file.
